Getting listed

Reading a nomination form (with an annotated example)

John HarrisonUpdated October 2026

A National Register nomination is written on NPS Form 10-900, an 11-section document whose first six sections are data boxes, whose seventh describes the property, whose eighth argues why it matters, and whose last three cite sources, fix the boundary and name the author. Learn the sections once and any nomination, from a farmhouse to a courthouse, reads the same way.

This guide walks the form using a real, readable example: the 2008 nomination of the Hall County Courthouse in Memphis, Texas. Section names and instructions come from National Register Bulletin 16A, the National Park Service’s manual for completing the form, and from the current (2023–2026) Word version of the form. As of October 2026 the NPS says the posted forms carry a March 31, 2026 expiration date but remain in use until renewed versions appear, and it advises anyone starting a nomination to contact their State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) first. If you are planning to write one, start with how to nominate a property and the SHPO directory.

The example: Hall County Courthouse, Memphis, Texas

The scanned nomination (linked in the sources) was prepared on the October 1990 edition of the form, stamped received by the National Park Service on August 20, 2008, and signed by the Keeper on October 1, 2008, which is the listing date shown on the property page. The preparer was a county historical commission volunteer working from an architect’s master plan, with help from Texas Historical Commission staff. That mix of local author and state editor is typical.

Section 1: Name of Property

The form asks for one historic name (Bulletin 16A caps it at 120 characters) and any other names or site number. The historic name is meant to be the name that best reflects the property’s importance during its period of significance, not its current branding. Here it is simply “Hall County Courthouse”, with “N/A” for other names. Properties named for people are usually entered surname first, which is why the Register is full of entries like “Allen, Theophilus, House”.

Section 2: Location

Street address, city or town, county, state and ZIP, plus two checkboxes: vicinity (for rural properties described relative to the nearest town) and not for publication. When “not for publication” is marked, usually to protect fragile archaeological sites from looting, the NPS withholds the location and the entry appears as “Address Restricted”. The courthouse is at 512 West Main, Memphis, Hall County, Texas, with neither box marked.

Sections 3 and 4: the two certifications

Section 3 is signed by the state or federal official who forwards the nomination. It records whether they believe the property meets the criteria and at what level of significance: national, statewide or local. For the courthouse, the Texas SHPO signed in March 2008 and recommended “locally” significant. Section 4 is the Keeper’s box: entered in the National Register, determined eligible, determined not eligible, or removed. Readers skip these pages, but they are the only place the form records who recommended what.

Section 5: Classification

Three data sets live here:

• Ownership: private, public-local, public-State or public-Federal. The courthouse is public-local.
• Category: building, district, site, structure or object, with only one box allowed. Bulletin 16A’s examples make the distinction concrete: a lighthouse with a keeper’s house is classified by the lighthouse (a structure), a park with a fountain by the park (a site).
• Resource count: how many buildings, sites, structures and objects inside the boundary are contributing or noncontributing. The courthouse nomination counts 1 contributing building, 2 contributing objects, 1 noncontributing structure and 1 noncontributing object: 3 contributing, 2 noncontributing in total.

For a historic district these counts are the whole story, so check them against the narrative in Section 7, which Bulletin 16A says must be consistent with them.

Section 6: Function or Use

Historic function and current function, entered from the NPS category list. “GOVERNMENT: county courthouse” appears in both boxes here. When the two differ (a school that is now apartments), the gap is often where integrity questions begin.

Section 7: Description

The data boxes give architectural classification and materials (foundation, walls, roof, other). The courthouse lists concrete foundation; concrete, cast stone and brick walls; asphalt roof. Bulletin 16A tells writers not to enter “vernacular” as a style because the word describes nothing specific.

The narrative description follows on continuation sheets (here, pages 7-5 through 7-12). The bulletin asks for a summary paragraph first (location, setting, type, style, construction, size, significant features), then a logical walk through the property, typically foundation up and exterior to interior, with more detail wherever alterations have affected integrity. The narrative must also say whether the property keeps its historic integrity in terms of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling and association, the seven aspects explained in the four criteria and seven aspects of integrity.

The courthouse narrative opens with the building’s size (four levels, 22,123 square feet), its Classical Revival design and its red brick with cream cast stone trim, then works through the foundation, structure and each floor. It is candid about problems: a bulging first-floor slab, altered windows and deteriorating materials. That candour is a feature, not a flaw; the form is a record, not a sales pitch.

Section 8: Statement of Significance

This is the section most readers want. It has four parts:

1. Applicable criteria. A (events and broad patterns), B (significant persons), C (design, construction or the work of a master), D (information potential, usually archaeology). The courthouse is marked A and C.
2. Criteria considerations A through G, for property types that need extra justification: religious properties, moved buildings, birthplaces and graves, cemeteries, reconstructions, commemorative properties, and properties less than 50 years old. “N/A” here.
3. Data boxes: areas of significance (Government, Architecture), period of significance (1923–1958), significant dates (1923), significant person, cultural affiliation, and architect/builder (Page Brothers, Architects of Austin; Walker Construction Company of San Antonio).
4. Narrative statement of significance on continuation sheets.

Bulletin 16A says the narrative must open with a summary paragraph stating simply and clearly why the property meets the criteria, then make the case in supporting paragraphs: a brief chronology, then one discussion per area of significance, each tied to its criterion and the period of significance. Writers are told to be selective and to avoid narrating the entire history of the property. The current form makes the summary paragraph a labelled field and asks for at least one paragraph per area of significance.

The courthouse summary does exactly that in one paragraph: eligible at the local level under Criterion A for Government and Criterion C for Architecture, with an honest note that the windows have been altered but the massing and ornamentation remain. The supporting text then covers the creation of Hall County in 1890, the 1893 courthouse it replaced, and the 1922 bond election.

Reading tip: the period of significance ends in 1958 rather than 1923 because the building’s significance under Criterion A (county government) continued; the end date is the 50-year cutoff at the time of writing, a convention explained in the 50-year rule.

Section 9: Major Bibliographical References

A bibliography on continuation sheets (21 numbered sources for the courthouse: county histories, Memphis Democrat reports, the Handbook of Texas), plus two checklists: previous documentation on file (HABS/HAER recordings, prior determinations, NHL designation) and primary location of additional data, which names the archive holding the full file. Here it is the Texas Historical Commission.

Section 10: Geographical Data

Acreage, map coordinates, and two short texts: the verbal boundary description and the boundary justification. Bulletin 16A allows “less than one acre” for small lots and asks for acreage to the nearest whole acre otherwise. The 1990 form wanted UTM references; the 2023–2026 form accepts latitude and longitude or UTM. The courthouse entry reads: less than one acre; UTM zone 14, 359328 E, 3843594 N; boundary “Block No. 1 of Memphis, Texas (courthouse square)”; justification “all property historically associated with the building”. Those two lines decide what is and is not inside the listing, which matters for everything from tax credits to Section 106 review.

Section 11: Form Prepared By

Name, organisation, address and date. The courthouse form was prepared by Karen Crisman for the Hall County Historical Commission, dated July 23, 2007, with assistance from THC staff. The 14 months between that date and the October 2008 listing is a realistic picture of the review path: SHPO staff, the state review board, then the NPS’s own review.

Additional documentation

After Section 11 come the maps and photographs: a USGS quadrangle map with the boundary, a sketch map keyed to the resource count, and labelled photographs. The courthouse file adds 29 historic photographs and two sets of architects’ drawings. In a scanned PDF these pages are at the back and often the most interesting part.

How the paperwork becomes a listing

Under 36 CFR 60.6, the SHPO must notify owners in writing at least 30 and not more than 75 days before the state review board meets, and the nomination must be on file for public comment during that window. Owners may object; see what listing means for homeowners. Once the NPS receives a nomination it publishes a notice in the Federal Register with a 15-day comment period (36 CFR 60.13).

Three more readable nominations

For practice, these scanned files on the site are long but legible: Old North Church, Monticello and Fallingwater, all National Historic Landmarks whose Section 8 arguments run at the national level. The address lookup finds the nomination for a property near you.

General information, not legal or tax advice. Researched from the sources above and drafted with AI assistance; published under the editor's name, corrections welcome. See the editorial policy.